How can I know if a word or phrase should be avoided due to regional variations?

Question

Say that I want to write some blog posts or news articles in Spanish. Are there any useful resources (e.g. books, websites or guidelines) that one could use in order to write “neutral” Spanish, that would be equally well understood by people from Spain as well as from Latin America.

Another way to put this question: is there a somewhat reliable way of knowing if some words or phrases I'm using should be avoided because they are specific to some regional variation?

Answer 1

I personally think there are certain ways to achieve this. But be aware that they are personal and subjective. I have been writing for a long time and I hope you find them useful.

1. I seldom use the pronoun vosotros which is predominantly used in Spain and is considered overly formal in Latin America. I use it only when my purpose is formality and a distinguished character speaking. For instance someone speaking to a king.
2. Don't use slang. Use only slang that you are certain will be understood in the spanish speaking world without sounding localized or weird. For instance cojones is a bad word choice for testículos. Try to use a sort of universal slang, in this case you could use bolas.
3. Don't use voseo. That means don't use the pronoun vos. It is very localized to only some regions of the spanish speaking world as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, etc... and of course this includes the conjugation of the words that go with it and the accents!

4. In case of doubt look for the word at Real Academia Española. There will be the word definition and in probably 99% of cases will tell you if the word is localized to a country or region. (Except for words from Spain which may be a problem) For example:

   chévere.

   1. adj. Ant., Ec., Hond., Méx., Pan. y Perú. Primoroso, gracioso, bonito, elegante, agradable.

   2. adj. Á. Caribe, Bol., El Salv. y Hond. Estupendo, buenísimo, excelente.

   3. adj. Col., Cuba, Pan., Perú, R. Dom. y Ven. Benévolo, indulgente. Un profesor chévere. Un examen chévere.

   4. m. fest. P. Rico y Ven. petimetre.

   5. adv. m. Ven. magníficamente (‖ muy bien).

5. Try to find people that speak spanish and are native speakers from various countries. I know difficult. But very useful once achieved, that way they can read your text and tell you if it sounds weird or correct to them. By weird I mean the word choice etc...

Bottom line: remember that all spanish speakers are raised in a different cultural context and managing a "neutral" spanish can prove to be a very difficult task since word choice usually differs greatly specially when spoken in slang. There is some degree of neutrality that can be achieved in overall Latin America with Colombian Spanish from Bogota (Source: Wikitravel) but that is highly relative. Although many studios of translation for tv shows are made there. But this "neutrality" is no longer considered neutral for someone from Spain. So there's a pretty big difference between spanish from Spain and from Latin America.

I hope this helps!